Benchtop Mortiser Review: Shop Fox Is Best of the Top Seven Mortise Cutters

Benchtop Mortiser Review: Shop Fox Is Best of the Top Seven Mortise Cutters

posted on August 1, 2010 by Chris Marshall

Mortisers have a very specific usage in most shops, but they are still very useful, so Chris Marshall sought out the best bargain.

Sure, there’s more than one way to cut a mortise; you don’t have to buy a dedicated machine to do it. Still, I think a mortiser is the fastest way to get the job done. Unlike a router or chisel, a mortiser hogs out all the waste and squares the cut in one operation. If you build lots of tables, chairs, doors and face frames, you’ll appreciate this efficiency.

Are you planning to buy a new mortiser? If so, there are some nice benchtop options. I’ve rounded up seven here and cut mortises until my arm was sore. (Grizzly Industrial was also invited to participate but could not provide a mortiser in time for testing.) While all of these tools cut square holes well, one still bested the rest; it was a solid performer with an unbeatable price. Here are some thoughts about each model and a tip of the hat to my category winner.

My Mortising Methodology

To test the mortisers, the author used a new 3/8" chisel in every machine and made four cuts each in hard maple, sugar pine, white oak and red cedar.

A mid-sized chisel was my choice for this test. I chucked a new, 3/8" chisel into each machine after carefully sharpening them. The chisels were obtained from an independent source to level the playing field in terms of chisel quality. I adjusted each cutter to create 1/16" of clearance between the auger bit and chisel; this provided consistency between the test tools and good chip evacuation. The depth stops were set for 1-1⁄4"-deep cuts. I cut four 6”-long mortises in hard maple, sugar pine, white oak and red cedar, in that order. All of the test pieces came from the same initial planks of stock. I felt they represented a good variety of hardnesses, densities, potentially tough grain issues and resin contents. In other words, realistic challenges for these mortisers. While I anticipated that hard maple and white oak would test these mortisers’ mettle the most, sugar pine actually posed the greatest challenge. Its resins seemed to make the chisels more prone to clogging and smoking than other woods. If a chisel was going to turn blue, here’s where it happened — although that only occurred twice. Still, even blued chisels were able to proceed from pine to oak and then cedar without a noticeable difference in sharpness or chip-clearing performance.

What People are Saying:

I have been using Rockler for years, your products are always the best that can be purchased and your prices are very reasonable. Ann you have always done your best to make me feel as though I was your very best customer. Thank you for great service."

- Daniel F.

What People are Saying:

I have been using Rockler for years, your products are always the best that can be purchased and your prices are very reasonable. Ann you have always done your best to make me feel as though I was your very best customer. Thank you for great service."